. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. WOODPECKERS 163 he replied, with equal seriousness and profundity, that since the bird hves in a country which grows httle wood, there is httle wood to peck, but from the fact that it pecks the nearest substitute for wood tliat is availalile we are justified in con- ckiding that it Wduld ])eck wood if it could, and therefore, is at heart a Woodpecker. At any rate, the habit has real signiticance in so far as it bespeaks the persistence of instinct operating through native adaptability, which may be con- sidered a form of intelligence. It is, of cour
. Birds of America;. Birds -- North America. WOODPECKERS 163 he replied, with equal seriousness and profundity, that since the bird hves in a country which grows httle wood, there is httle wood to peck, but from the fact that it pecks the nearest substitute for wood tliat is availalile we are justified in con- ckiding that it Wduld ])eck wood if it could, and therefore, is at heart a Woodpecker. At any rate, the habit has real signiticance in so far as it bespeaks the persistence of instinct operating through native adaptability, which may be con- sidered a form of intelligence. It is, of course, comparatively easy for the Gila to make a way through the fiber of the cactus. The ]iith is cut away to the proper depth, and a chamber of suitable dimensions is hollowed out. In the operation the bird's plum- age becomes more or less daubed with saji, but that doesn't seem to bother him. At the entrance ;ind inside the cavity the fluid soon hardens, and the i)assage-way and chamber become as dry as if they were cut out of solid wood. In the region inhabited by these birds, many, if not most, of the giant cactus stems show one or even several of these nesting holes. The other habits of the Gila \\'oodpccker are similar to those of the Ant-eating species, with the important exception that it does not seem to practice hoarding food. It feeds largely on in- sects, captured in foliage or on the wing, which diet is varied by mistletoe and other berries. It is often seen feeding on the ground in cornfields. In the report of Mr. F. E. L. Beal, of the Ignited .States Biological .Survey, on the food of Woodpeckers he says that but one stomach of the Gila Woodpecker had been examined and this was largely filled with beetles of the May- beetle family with a few bones of a lizard. The vegetable part was t'hoto by W. L. Finley and H. 1'. liohlman GILA WOODPECKER The giant cactus is its favorite iiome FLICKER Colaptes auratus auratus {Liiuurtis) A. O. U. Number 412 See Color Pla
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidbirdsofameri, bookyear1923
